


What Is It That They Say About The Fire That Burns Twice As Bright?

by makelovelikewar



Category: The Room Where It Happened (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-07-01 04:21:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15766503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makelovelikewar/pseuds/makelovelikewar
Summary: Tseer and Wyatt go to a fun party where nothing bad happens. Nope, nothing bad at all.





	What Is It That They Say About The Fire That Burns Twice As Bright?

He hated this. The empty conversations built on a foundation of really expensive and really bad cocktails did very little to make him feel at peace. The tabloids would have you thinking differently, though. To hear them tell it, Wyatt Vancroft was the party boy prince of the city. It was true that he attended many social events, but that was more a necessity of the game. He was taught long ago that no one wanted to pay him to make things. They did, however, want to pay him to make them look important, and if he can spin the pitch right, then everyone gets what they want. That was one of the first lessons Stanton had taught him way back at Elder Tower. Maybe that wasn’t the best lesson to reminisce about.

Wyatt silently snapped back into his conversation, sipping at the brown drink in his glass, the flavor cutting though the overwhelming saccharine flavor of the drink and the conversation. “I just don’t really want to have my name associated with that whole situation Wyatt.” The dwarven woman across from him coolly sipped the neon red drink from her glass. Ikoshi Thoran was a person with soft features and a pompadour that slowly shifted between pastel blue and green. 

“I mean, it’s not like you are taking responsibility Ikoshi. You are helping people who have been abused by a system. You’re the fucking babyface hero in this thing.” She rebutted him, ranting on about how the whole situation was poison, but Wyatt was already checking out again, this time his gaze falling across the room. A wry little smirk spreading across his face as he caught a glimpse of brown feathers through the crowd. 

It had been a bit of a trial to even get Tseer out of a gi. It wasn’t that he actually cared. Frankly, the thought of Tseer in anything else was sort of off-putting, but this was just not that kind of event. Wyatt couldn’t help but let his mind drift back there.

“Just tell them I’m your bodyguard. Problem solved,” Tseer quipped as the pair searched through the racks of a nearby boutique. Wyatt huffed a bit, hanging the slacks he had been holding up to Tseer back on the racks. He glanced over his shoulder to the uninterested clerk, then back to Tseer. 

“I…I don’t want you there as my bodyguard.” His gaze broke with Tseer’s, looking back to the rack of clothes, shifting there listlessly. “Love always made me,” his words caught, eyes slowly moving back to Tseer’s. “They never let me forget my place, about what people would think of us together. I never want to make you feel like. Fuck anyone who thinks you don’t belong. I want everyone to know I’m with you,” a sweet smile spread across his lips, the cocky façade gone like they were back in the forest. “And not because I’m paying you to be there, or whatever. I don’t give a fuck about them. I just want you with me, and, you know fuck it. Fuck them. You wear what you want. Fuck their expectation, you don’t owe them shit.” 

He smiled at Tseer, letting his hand slip around his waist as he turned back to the clothes, moving on to planning his own outfit. After a few moments, Tseer spoke in a soft voice as he pulled the charcoal slacks back off the rack, “Ok, just nothing too tight.”

Wyatt was still in his warm and fuzzy world when a “The fuck did you just say?” cut through his daydream like a blade. His eyes went wide as he began to move. “Listen, Ikoshi, just think about it ok? You can be the one who helps all the people he hurt. Think about how big that PR pop would be.” 

He darted through the crowd, swallowing the remainder of his drink and stashing it on a table as he came upon the scene. There, Tseer was beak-to-chest with a tall, wide human man who was wearing the most shit-eatingest of grins. Wyatt slipped between them, pushing the man back as hard as he could to make room for himself. He could see Tseer’s feathers puffed under the charcoal shirt he had gotten to match his slacks, chest heaving against the vest he had gotten that almost matched his feathers. Wyatt placed his hand on Tseer’s shoulder, moving to put his eyes in front of his boyfriend’s. 

“Hey! Hey! What’s up?” the worry was obvious on Wyatt’s face.

Tseer’s own eyes locked with Wyatt’s, the edge fading from them immediately. 

“This fucking asshole said you and Stanton...” 

Wyatt interrupted, taking on a calm tone in a effort to cool Tseer off. “It’s ok. It doesn’t matter what he says. He’s just someone who can’t handle the fact his money doesn’t make him important.” Wyatt smirked as he knew Tseer could see the man bristle behind Wyatt. “Head on to the car. We’re too good for this party anyways.” 

He pulled Tseer into a hug, kissing the top of his head and squeezing his hand as Tseer turned to leave. Wyatt was quick to follow when the man spoke, “Next time keep your pet on a leash.” 

Wyatt turned, every hour of sleep he had missed in the last two months hardening his expression till it was a weapon. The man smirked, raising a champagne flute to his lips before Wyatt reached out to grab his hand. His finger and thumb rested on the bottom of the bulb as Wyatt moved close. 

“Next time I won’t come to your rescue. He’ll just break your fucking arm. Then they’ll sweep what’s left of you into a dustbin,” Wyatt said as a sweet smile slipped onto his lips. 

Steam had built up near the rim of the glass, bubbles rapidly rising to the top and popping. Wyatt pulled the glass from his hand, downing the drink in a flourish before shoving back into the man’s chest. 

“Drive safe,” Wyatt said as a little curl of flame danced from the corner of his eye, “And watch your fucking mouth.” 

As the door closed behind him, the confidence and the righteous fury faded back to self-doubt. That was probably bad for negotiations. Looking up, he caught Tseer’s gaze, his expression lighting up, and Wyatt couldn’t help but smile. Worth it, he thought, definitely worth it.


End file.
